Ninth Key Jesse's POV
by Skyhazzard
Summary: Written in Jesse's POV in Ninth Key. Originally this was going to be just one chapter but people have been asking for more so I'm gonna go back when he first shows up and eventually we'll hit chapter 9 again. So please keep reading and reviewing!
1. Early Morning Visitor

_**Hey guys! So this story was originally just one chapter of Ninth Key, chapter 9 which I titled "In Fate's Hands" but people said that they really liked it so I decided to just do the whole book in Jesse's POV so I went back to when he first shows up in Chapter 2. The chapters from the book will be posted before the entry so you know what chapter it's from and I guess if I feel like just making up a chapter for him I'll let you guys know and it won't say chapter whatever. Anyways...I love Jesse, he's just awesome. I hope I do him justice. :)**_

**Chapter 2**

It was early in the morning, about 3 am, and I was roaming around the house looking for something to do.

Susannah had gotten home about an hour ago from some party she had attended. She hadn't seemed in a good mood so I decided not to show myself to her and just let her go to sleep. But that was fine with me. Don't get me wrong, I love talking to Susannah, but I love looking at all the interesting things her family brings into the house.

Things had definitely changed since my time back in the 1800's.

Back then life was simple. I was still a simple man but I had a craving for knowledge. The world fascinated me. There was so much to learn and for most people so little time to absorb it. I've had 175 years to learn new things but I'll still never learn as much as I want to. Watching the world change was amazing. New machines, new tools, new medicines...

And there are books for everything! I'd always loved to read. But Susannah's books are just not interesting to me. Their fiction, nonfiction is my thing. The only books of hers that I like to read are her text books.

Which is why I was currently in her brother David's room. Now he had fascinating books about science and history.

Seeming I've always been interested in becoming a doctor I decided to look for some books pertaining to that. I was leafing through a book about the human body, when I heard someone scream.

I was so startled that I dropped the book but I caught it before it hit the floor, the last thing I needed was to scare David although the screaming alone should have awoken him. I listened carefully and realized this wasn't the scream of the living but of the dead.

Suddenly it stopped.

Either Susannah calmed her visitor down or she got tired of the screaming and probably solved the problem with her fist.

I shook my head as I sat the book down. Better go check things out. One minute I was in David's room, the next I was in Susannah's. She couldn't see me though because I didn't make myself visible.

She was still sitting in bed, her hair rumpled. "Now what do you want?" Susannah said, slightly grumpily.

The ghost, a woman with short brown hair, replied with, "I need you...I need you to tell someone something."

Susannah looked at her. "Okay. What?"

I rolled my eyes. I know it was early in the morning but Susannah could have been a little more patient and caring, obviously this woman was in pain.

"Tell him..." She wiped her face with her hands. "Tell him it wasn't his fault. He didn't kill me." She sniffled, her shoulders shaking.

"Tell him he didn't kill you?" Susannah said slowly, raising her eyebrows. That wasn't something you always hear, in her line of work.

The ghost nodded eagerly. "You'll tell him?"

"Sure," Susannah said. "I'll tell him. Only who am I telling?" she asked.

"Red of course," the ghost said, looking at Susannah as if she were crazy. Without another word she was gone.

Susannah stared at the spot the ghost had been, shrugged, and then started beating on her pillow, fluffing it up. She laid back down and was just about to fall back asleep when I showed myself. How could she even just fall back asleep after that anyway?

"What?" she growled, glaring at me.

I shook my head disapprovingly. "You didn't even ask her name."

She sat up on her elbows. "Like she gave me the chance."

That's not the point, I thought to myself. Instead I folded my arms across my chest and said, "You could have asked. But you didn't bother." Sometimes I don't know how she even solves these ghosts problems.

"Excuse me," she said sounding more awake than she had been a minute ago. She said sitting fully up. "This is _my_ bedroom." She pointed around the room with her finger. "I will treat spectral visitors to it any way I want to, thank you."

I sighed. "Susannah." She was giving me all this attitude that I really didn't deserve, sometimes I think she doesn't like me. I looked straight at her. I decided to give her some advice. "If you're going to do this, Susannah, don't do it halfway."

"Look, Jesse," her voice sounded as sharp as a blade. "I've been doing this a long time without any help from you, okay?"

I knew the question was rhetorical but I answered anyway. "She was obviously in great emotional need, and you-"

She cut me off, "What about you?" She gave me a look. "You two live on the same astral plane, if I'm not mistaken. Why didn't you get her rank and serial number?"

I'd started unconsciously pacing a small area when she'd interrupted me but I stopped after she said that. "Rank and what?" I asked, not understanding.

I could have sworn I saw Susannah blush but what would she have been blushing about. I don't think what she said had anything to do with her or her personal business. She smiled, as if to herself. "Her name," she explained to me. "Why didn't you get her name?" Her voice had gotten softer, gentler. The way I like it.

No, quit thinking like that. I shook my head in response to myself and to her. "It doesn't work that way."

She didn't respond for a while. It looked like she was thinking to herself. She shook herself out of it. Her shoulders sagged, "Look, I fully intend to help that woman. Just not now, okay?" She blinked her eyes sleepily. "Now, I need to get some sleep. I'm totally wrecked."

My forehead wrinkled as I repeated, "Wrecked?" What is she talking about?

"Yeah. Wrecked." She looked at me with slight humor in her eyes. She shrugged. "Whacked. Beat. All tuckered out. Tired." She looked at me as if saying, "Do you got it?"

"Oh." Really sometimes it's like she's speaking a foreign language. I stood there looking at her, thinking about what it would have been like to meet her when I was still alive. If she was anything like she was now I probably would have been too intimidated by her to speak to her.

"Good night, then Susannah."

"Good night," she said, squeaking at the end. I smiled to myself as she rolled over and pulled the blankets up around her head.

I really need to get control over my thoughts, I thought as I disappeared.

**_Okay that's the end of this chapter. Please read and review. I'll try updating within the next week or two._**


	2. Memories

**Okay guys. Sorry it's taken me a while. I've been busy. The next chapter that Jesse is actually in in Ninth Key is chapter 5 so I've been trying to think of something to write between chapter 2 and chapter 5. I totally have a chapter 4 idea so it shouldn't take me as long to write. BTW, Jesse's not in a lot of chapters. He's only in chapter 2, 5, 9 (which I already have written), 12, 16, 20, 21, and 23. Bear with me.**

The next day, while Susannah was at school, I had the house all to myself. Well, besides Max, the family dog, but he didn't like me that much so he mainly stayed in David's room.

I kept thinking about last night.

There was something about that ghost. Something familiar, although I knew that I had never met her before.

I walked over to the large sliding glass doors and looked out at the back yard. The sun was shining through a large oak tree, causing the light to break up and shatter.

As I stood there my mind traveled back to a week ago. I was standing in this exact spot, looking out the door. Susannah had been outside, sitting under that same tree, doing homework.

It had been such a beautiful day, just like today, and she had been adamant that she was going to spend it outdoors. She'd grabbed her books, a blanket, a bottle of water and had set up under that tree.

I'd been passing through, looking for a magazine of Andy's that I had been wanting to read, when the light had shined in my eyes and I covered my gaze and glanced out the window.

Her hair was up but some of it had escaped her ponytail. She reached up and shoved it out of the way but it refused to stay put. The light shined on her and gave her a heavenly glow.

I'd thought she looked so beautiful in that moment, she looked natural, perfect. For a second I'd thought about going out there. I'd even taken a step in her direction before my common sense snapped me out of it.

Back in the present day I shook me head, as if I could rid myself of the memory.

I should not be thinking about Susannah like that. It's wrong and it's not like she likes me as anything more than a spectral visitor she's sharing her room with, a friend at best.

It's not like anything will ever happen between us. It's not like anything _can_ happen between us.

My fist hit the wall and one of the pictures that were newly hung there shifted.

I reached up and fixed it. Then I took a step back to get a better view.

The picture was of Andy, his kids and a woman that must have been his first wife. They all looked so happy together, even Brad and Jake. The boys were sitting in the middle with a parent on each side. Andy looked fatherly, Brad was tousling David's hair, Jake was smirking at them, and their mom was beaming, her eyes shining at the camera.

Her eyes...

I took another step back. She was the woman from Susannah's bedroom last night. Now it made sense, the feeling that she was familiar. I'd seen a picture of her before here when Andy first began unpacking.

What had she said last night? Something about "Red not killing her." David. Red must have been what she called David because of his red hair. I remembered hearing something about how she had gotten really sick before she died. They must have "pulled the plug" as they say. Poor David.

As soon as Susannah gets home I'll have to tell her about this, unless she already figured it out.

**Okay I FINALLY was able to fix my document so it looks normal. That's it for now. Read and review.**


	3. The Talk

**Okay here's the new chapter. Hope you like it.**

I was going to tell Susannah about Mrs. Ackerman when she got home but I decided to wait till after she was done with homework and had some time to herself. It doesn't seem like she gets much of that with ghosts showing up asking for help.

I went up to the hill behind the house when Susannah got home, walking around invisible didn't seem right when I had decided to give her some time to herself. The afternoon sun was shining down brightly. It'd been so long since I had felt the heat of the sunshine on my skin but I could still remember the feeling. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

I miss those simple things. The feeling of sunshine, the wind on your face, the fresh air...

I sat down on a patch of grass and sat my arms on my knees. The view was beautiful up here. Even better than the view from Susannah's window. I could faintly hear the ocean.

My sisters and I loved going to the ocean. I remember taking them there all the time. They'd run around looking for different colored stones, writing things in the sand with a stick that they'd found, going close to the water and wait for it to come at them but running away before they got wet. I laughed to myself, then sighed. I fell backwards on to the grass.

I wish that I'd gotten to say goodbye to them. I wish that they would have known that I had been killed instead of thinking that I'd run off just so I wouldn't have to get married.

I remembered a conversation I'd had with my sister Josefina just before I headed off to go meet Maria.

She'd never liked Maria. She'd heard rumors about Maria around town. Rumors no one took seriously because why would sweet Maria de Silva being running around causing mockery of our family. Little did everyone know that the rumors were true.

"They say that she'd been seen hanging around with this big fellow named Felix Diego. He's horrible Jesse. You've heard of him, he's the worst of the worst. Why Maria would want to be with him I don't even want to know," Josefina had said.

"Jo, you shouldn't be repeating the things you've heard around town," I scolded her. "Do you have any proof to back up these stories?" I glanced over at her as she helped me feed the horses, which I mean she gave them treats while I did all the real work.

She rubbed Roman between the eyes before giving him a carrot.

"Yes, I have proof Jesse. My friend Carolina saw them together herself! She had gone out to the woods to gather some sticks to help start the fire and she heard voices so she hid. After a few moments the people were going past her and she saw them together. Luckily they didn't see her otherwise she might not have lived to tell the tale. Felix is a dirty scoundrel!"

I sat down the water bucket and turned to look at her. My sister liked to tell stories just like anyone else but hers always had a bit of truth behind it.

And to be honest I didn't want to marry Maria. I barely even knew her and from what I did know about her she didn't seem that interesting to me. All she ever talked about was what new bonnet she had gotten, which I did not care to know about.

I didn't want to get married right now anyway. I wanted to get out in the world and learn new things. I wanted to be a doctor and do something good with my life. But my family couldn't afford for me to be away for that long let alone afford for me to go. They needed me here. Seeing as I was the only son of my father and my uncle had no sons they had decided to have Maria and I wed to keep everything in our family and to double our land.

I didn't want an arranged marriage. I want to get married on my own. I want to fall in love with someone that I choose. Of course there didn't seem to be anyone around that had caught my eye yet.

I ran my hands through my hair. "What should I do?"

"Don't marry her Jesse," Josefina whispered. "I don't want you to go. I want you to find love on your own. I want you to do whatever you want to do. I just want you to be happy."

I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her in for a hug.

"Thanks Jo. You always seem to know what to say. You're a good person and are going to do great things." I kissed the top of her head. "I love you."

She squeezed me tight, "Te amo a Jesse."

I let her out of the hug but grabbed her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "I don't want you to tell anyone this okay. I'm going to go and tell Maria and her father that the deal is off. I don't want to humiliate them by having someone else tell them first. Promise me you won't say anything."

"Prometo en mi vida. Cruce mi corazón y esperanza de morir." She crossed her heart.

"Gracias pequeña hermana."

I felt something kicking me. I pulled myself out of the memory and opened my eyes to see that it was getting pretty dark out. There was a dark figure standing above me.

"Are you Jesse de Silva?" a deep voice growled.

"Depends on who wants to know, sir." I quickly stood up.

"Well, lets see, Susannah Simon's father wants to know sonny," his gaze blared into mine. He crossed his arms over his chest.

I gulped. Did not see this coming.

"Yes, I'm Jesse de Silva," I smiled nervously. This has never happened to me before. I've never had someone's father come give me a talk.

"Yeah I think we already established that. What I want to know is why are sharing a room with my daughter?"

"Ah, well, you see, technically I'm not." His glare told me to start talking and to start talking fast. "I'm not there all the time. I'm only really there when she's at school or sleeping." Probably shouldn't have mentioned the sleeping part. "I don't go through her things, well except for the books she leaves lying around." Why am I still talking! This is going bad.

"Why are you going through her books?" her father asked. "You shouldn't be going through anything of hers."

"I want to learn, sir. I've always had a craving for knowledge," I tried to dig my way out of my hole I'd thrown myself into. "When you're dead for as long as I've been you see the world change before you're eyes. Everything's different than back when I was alive."

"Which was?" he inquired.

"1850," I said, "sir."

He thought about that for a moment. "1850. That was a long time ago." He caressed his chin. "So what kind of intentions do you have with my daughter?"

"I don't have any impure intentions, none of any kind sir. My parents raised me better than that. I have a deep respect for women, seeing as I had five sisters growing up that I adored. I would never let anything bad happen to them, just like I would never let anything bad happen to Susannah. She's a very nice girl once you get to know her. Very strong and independent."

He smiled at that. "Yes she is. She gets that from me." He quit smiling and said, "Why do you stick around then? Why would you be so interested in hang out in a sixteen year old girls room if you weren't planning on being a peeping tom? If she asked you to leave would you get out of there? What if I make you leave?"

"If Susannah asked me to leave then I would. I like Susannah. She's interesting and she's the first person I've talked to in over 150 years. Why would you want to give up the first person that's talked to you in that long? I like being friends with her. She's different than any other girl I've ever known. She's the complete opposite of what girls were like back in my time. Back then you were supposed to behave, do as you were told, be seen not heard. She would have gotten into a lot of trouble if she had been alive back then." I smiled at the thought. "And not to be disrespectful sir, but you can't make me leave. Susannah is the only one that can do that and we both know that." After talking to him for this long I started to get more comfortable. "Look. I respect her. I don't hang around when she's changing or using the bathroom. I give her time to be alone. I'm there to help if she needs me. I don't have any dishonorable intentions toward her."

Mr. Simon took a step toward me. "You know what," he stopped right in front of me, "I kind of like you. Which makes this whole threatening situation more difficult."

I just stared at him.

"You seem like a good kid which means I can't beat you up," he shook his head. "I can see why Suze hasn't kicked you out yet. But just to let you know, if you ever do anything to her I will make your afterlife a living hell."

"I wouldn't expect anything less sir."

**I knew I wanted to do the talk between Jesse and Suze's dad but I wasn't sure what to put before it because I was going to have Jesse tell Suze about Mrs. Ackerman right when she got home but Jesse doesn't talk to Suze until the middle of the night in chapter 5. So I hope you liked Jesse's interaction with his sister. I guess I'm gonna update once a month seeming that's what I've been do so far. Here's the spanish translations:**

**"Te amo a Jesse." (I love you Jesse.) "****Prometo en mi vida. Cruce mi corazón y esperanza de morir." ****(I promise on my life. Cross my heart and hope to die.) "****Gracias pequeña hermana." (Thanks little sister.)**

**As always, read and review.**


	4. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

**Hey guys! I know I took FOREVER to finish this chapter. 3 months to be exact! I'm not entirely sure why it took me so long. I think it was mainly cause I was feeling extremely uninspired. I'd been working on it on and off and last night I didn't have the internet or TV and I decided I was going to try to finish it and I did. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

Reminiscing about my life and talking with Susannah's father had taken longer than I thought. Susannah was already in bed by the time I returned to the house.

A few hours later the ghost of David's mom returned which I knew would not make Susannah happy. She values her sleep when she can get it. I remained unseen, not wanting to interrupt.

Susannah sat up wincing at the ghosts cries. Instead of saying anything she just sat there and let the woman scream. Once the ghost realized she'd gotten her attention she began to speak.

"Why? Why didn't you tell him?" Every time she spoke it sounded like her heart was breaking.

"Look, I tried, okay?" Susannah was trying to talk in a calm, soothing voice. She was doing better than last night so far. "The guy's not the easiest person to get hold of. I'll get him tomorrow, I promise."

"He blames himself," she whispered, slumped on her knees. She was looking at her hands sitting in her lap. "He blames himself for my death. But it wasn't his fault." She looked up at Susannah, tears glistening in her eyes. "You've got to tell him." Her voice cracked, "Please."

Susannah rolled her eyes, "Look lady..." She paused like she was trying to control what she was saying. "Hey. What's your name, anyway?" Yes, now she remembers her manners.

"Please. You've got to tell him." Her voice pleaded with Susannah.

"I said I'd do it," Susannah snapped. "Give me a chance, will you? These things are kind of delicate, you know. I can't just go blurting it out." She shrugged. "Do you want that?" she asked.

"Oh, God, no!" Lifting a knuckle to her mouth she began to chew on it nervously. "No, please."

Susannah raised her hands in front of her. "Okay, then. Chill out a little. Now tell me-" But she didn't get to finish her sentence because she had already disappeared. She shook her head in frustration.

Oh Susannah...

Applauding softly I materialized in front of her. I half-smiled. "Now that was your finest performance yet. You seemed caring, yet disgusted." I put my hands back down to my sides.

The moonlight shined through the windows and cast a glow over Susannah. "Don't you," she asked grumpily, glaring at me from across the room, "have some chains you're supposed to be rattling somewhere?"

I strolled over to the bed and sat down, fully aware that if Susannah didn't move her feet I'd sit on them. She jerked her feet out of the way.

I looked at her pointedly. "Don't you have something you want to tell me?" She just shook her head.

"No. It's two o'clock in the morning, Jesse." She rolled her eyes. "The only thing I've got on my mind right now is sleep." She cocked her head, "You remember sleep, right?"

I pretended not to heard that.

"I had a visitor of my own," I explained, "not to long ago. I believe you know him. A Mr. Peter Simon." I raised an eyebrow at her.

Her look of sarcasm dropped from her face and she looked away. "Oh." The next thing I know she flopped down on her bed, grabbed her pillow, and clenched it over her head. "I don't want to hear about it," she mumbled. I could barely make out what she said.

Really, Susannah. Really.

I glared at the pillow covering her head. It soared across the room and landed on the floor. She continued to just lay there.

"What?" she squeaked, still refusing to look at me.

I tried to look her in the eye. "I want to know why you told your father that there's a man living in your bedroom." My brows furrowed together, something that only happens when I'm highly frustrated.

"Uh. Actually, Jesse, there is a guy living in my bedroom, remember?"

I let out a sigh. "Yes, but-" I stood up and started pacing. "But I'm not really living here." I waved my arms around.

"Well," she said, cocking her head, "Only because technically, Jesse, you're dead."

"I know that," I said, frustratedly running my hands through my hair. Of course I know that. How could you forget that you are no longer living? I turned to look at Susannah. "What I don't understand is why you told him about me. I didn't know it bothered you that much," I shrugged my shoulders sadly, "my being here."

Susannah was quiet for a while.

Just when I was about to give up and disappear she said softly, "It doesn't."

"It doesn't what?" I asked. I stared at her, sitting on her bed playing with her hands.

Still not looking up she continued. "It doesn't bother me that you live here." She winced, realizing the phrasing of her words. "Well, not that you _live_ here, since...I mean, it doesn't bother me that you _stay_ here. It's just that-" As she had been talking she'd been playing with her hands more and more but when she stopped speaking so did her hands.

I swallowed. "It's just that what?"

She looked up at me and made eye contact. "It's just that I can't help wondering _why_."

"Why what?" I asked, taken aback by the question.

I could see the curiosity in her green eyes, her emerald green eyes. Eyes that I could look into for hours and get lost in. "Why you've stayed here so long."

I became frozen. Nobody had ever asked me that, of course I've never met someone who could see me before. But, until Susannah asked me, I never really gave much thought about why I had stayed here for all these years.

I was a ghost. I could go anywhere I wanted but instead I chose to hang around the place I was murdered.

I must have been quiet for too long because next thing I knew Susannah started to back track. "Of course if you don't want to discuss it, that's okay." But she couldn't leave it at that. Oh, no. "I would have hoped that we could have, you know, an open and honest relationship, but if that's too much to ask-"

That made me thaw out from my former freeze up.

"What about you Susannah?" I inquired. "Have you been open and honest with me? I don't think so." I shook my head. "Otherwise, why would your father come after me like he did?"

Shocked, she sat up straight. She looked at me in alarm. "My dad came _after _you?"

I rolled my eyes, "_Nombre de Dios, _Susannah, what did you expect him to do? What kind of father would he be if he didn't try to get rid of me?" Any father in his right mind would do the same.

Susannah looked like she was going to be sick. "Oh my God." She put her head in her hands. Slowly she ran them down her face and back to her lap. "Jesse, I never said a word to him about you. I swear." I could hear the honesty in her voice. "He's the one who brought you up. I guess he's been spying on me or something." A bit of anger entered her voice, but it was subdued. "So..." she glanced at me, "what'd you do? When he came after you?"

I shrugged. This has been a very exhausting conversation. "What could I do?" All the frustration had left my voice. "I tried to explain myself as best as I could." I put a note of nonchalance in my voice. "After all, it's not as if my intentions are dishonorable."

She looked down but then quickly looked back up. "You have _intentions_?"

I became incredibly embarrassed at saying that and tried to shove it away by treating Susannah as I would one of my sisters. I picked up the pillow I had smashed onto the floor and shoved it in her face.

I know, I know. How childish of me.

Of course that didn't deter her from keeping the conversation going. After she had shoved the pillow aside she said, "So what did my dad say? I mean," she said with a wave of her hand, "after you reassured him that your intentions weren't dishonorable?"

"Oh," I said, sitting back down on the bed, making sure to avoid her feet this time. "After a while he calmed down." I looked at her from the corner of my eye. "I like him, Susannah."

She snorted. "Everybody does. Or did, back when he was alive." Her voice had taken on a hint of sadness.

I looked at her sitting beside me, ruffled bed-head and all. "He worries about you, you know."

"He's got way bigger things to worry about than me," she muttered, shoving her blankets aside.

"Like what?" I asked curious. It's not like we have an agenda of things to do in the afterlife.

Sarcasm filled her voice. "Gee, I don't know. How about why he's still here instead of wherever it is people are supposed to go after they die? That might be one suggestion, don't you think?"

So we are back to this again...

"How are you so sure this isn't where he's supposed to be, Susannah?" I say quietly. "Or me, for that matter?" She said herself that she doesn't know what happens to you after you die. Well nether do I, and I'm dead.

She glared at me as if this was a stupid question. "Because it doesn't work that way, Jesse. I may not know much about this mediation thing, but I do know that." She sounded pretty self-assured. "This is the land of the living. You and my dad and that lady who was here a minute ago-you don't belong here. The reason you're stuck here is because something is wrong." She looked at me pointedly.

"Ah, I see." I said disappointedly.

"You can't tell me you're happy here," she said staring at me. "You can't tell me you've _liked_ being trapped in this room for a hundred and fifty years."

"It hasn't been all bad," I said with a smile. Looking over at her I continued, "Things have picked up recently."

It was hard to tell, what with it being so dark and all, but I could have sworn I saw her blush.

She cleared her throat. "Well, I'm sorry about my dad coming after you. I swear I didn't tell him to."

"It's all right, Susannah. I like your father. And he only does it because he cares about you." I shifted slightly on the bed so I could look at her better.

"You think so?" she asked shyly, picking at her bedspread. "I wonder. I think he does it because he knows it annoys me."

As I was watching her fingers nervously pull at the bedspread I noticed her hands looked different. Without thinking I reached out and grabbed one of her hands, instantly feeling hers tense. Her hands looked all blistered. I flipped them over and looked at the other side in the moonlight. Yep, definitely blistered. "What's wrong with your fingers?"

"Poison oak," she mumbled grumpily. "You're lucky you're dead and can't get it. It bites." She tried to pull her hands out of mind but I held on gently and she gave up. She began to ramble, "Nobody warned me about it, you know. About poison oak, I mean. Palm trees, sure, everybody said there'd be palm trees, but-"

I interrupted her little rant cause I knew it could go on forever and whereas I have all the time in the world, she doesn't. "You should try putting a poultice of gum flower leaves on them."

She looked at me with a slightly sarcastic look on her face. "Oh, okay."

I frowned at her lack of knowledge. "Little yellow flowers. They grow wild. They have healing properties, you know. There are some growing on that hill out behind the house."

"Oh. You mean that hill where all the poison oak is?"

"They say gunpowder works, too." I added. I felt proud of myself for remembering all that seeming I've never needed that knowledge during my duration as a ghost.

"Oh," Susannah said blankly. "You know, Jesse, you might be surprised to learn that medicine has advanced beyond flower poultices and gunpowder in the past century and a half."

"Fine," I said, dropping her hands. I was only trying to be helpful. "It was only a suggestion."

"Well, thanks," she said grudgingly. "But I'll put my faith in hydrocortisone."

I looked at her carefully. Here's this girl-no, this woman-who thinks she can take on the world single handed without any help at all but she can still say thank you, however reluctantly, when you offer you're help and somehow mean it while also insulting you. Girls were so much easier to understand a century and a half ago, although I'm not saying I fully understood them, just that they were less complicated.

"Susannah."

"What?"

"Go carefully with this woman. The woman who was here." If she thinks she knows everything then lets see her try. I just don't want her to hurt this woman anymore than she's already been hurt by losing her life and her family.

She shrugged, "Okay."

I sighed. "I mean it. She isn't-" I paused, she doesn't want my input, she's made that clear, "she isn't who you think she is."

"I know who she is," she said calmly and clearly.

I looked at her, taken aback. "You _know?_ She _told_ you?" I couldn't keep the surprise from my voice or my face. I just didn't figure she'd get this far so soon. I guess I underestimated her.

"Well, not exactly," she cleared things up. She held up her hands, "But you don't have to worry. I've got things under control."

I shook my head. "No." I stood up. "You don't, Susannah." I looked at her sadly. "You should be careful. You should listen to your father this time."

"Oh, okay," she replied, very sarcastically I should mention. "Thanks. Do you think maybe you could be creepier about it?" She raised her eyebrows. "Like, could you drool blood, or something, too?"

Typical Susannah, deflects with high levels of sarcasm. And here I thought we made some progress toward being friends and being honest with each other. It seems like we are always taking one step forward and two steps back.

I felt very disappointed in her so I left without another word.

* * *

><p><strong>So that's it. Hope you guys liked it. Review it if you want. I'm really going to try to work on the next chapter so it's ready next month but I know I'm not going to work on it this week cause it's Hunger Games week! Going to the midnight premiere tomorrow night! So excited! And then I'm going with my friend on Saturday! I seriously can't wait. Just a little over 24 hours before the EPICNESS is in front of my eyes! *shaking with excitement* Okay, I'm gonna quit rambling on and on about HG. Hope you guys continue to like me story. :)<strong>


	5. Why are we even friends?

******Sorry guys that I'm such a failure at writing and uploading quicker. Some days I just have so much going on that I slack in other departments but I seriously haven't forgotten about this story. I'm going to finish it some day I swear. Okay so if you're still hanging with me _I love you!_ **

**In Ninth Key Jesse is not in chapters 6, 7, or 8 so I think I'm going to be making these chapters very short just because there's only so much he can be doing in these 3 chapters to begin with and I don't want it to get too long and ridiculous. I promise I'm going to work on chapters 7 and 8 real soon because I just got my wisdom teeth out and have nothing to do till Wednesday. Oh and here's the best part! I already have chapter 9 done because originally this story was just that. So hopefully I'll be uploading the next 3 chapters real soon and it will caring me on to finishing this story.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

I hated arguing with Susannah. I really did, but sometimes she just infuriates me. And when we fight there's always this underlying tension that I just don't understand. I ran my hands through my hair.

I was sitting out on the roof by our room. Susannah had left with her stepbrother Jake about an hour ago. Probably off to do something stupid and reckless. Okay...well maybe not stupid per say but reckless for sure. She was more of a take action kind of girl than one that would analyze the situation first and come up with some other options. In some ways, I admired that she was so fearless that she could just jump right into a situation and in others, I wish she'd take more time to think things through.

I leaned back against the tiles and closed my eyes against the waning sunlight.

Susannah Simon. What is it about her that keeps me sticking around and helping her out of trouble when she, no doubt, finds herself in it?

I guess part of it's in my nature. Like I told her father last night, growing up with my sisters whom I adored has given me a deep respect for women. I never wanted to see them get hurt and was always willing to help them out, even when sometimes I shouldn't have. I wanted them to succeed in life, well as much as women could back then. I wish that they could be alive during this time period. They would be so successful and they'd love everything that has evolved over the years. And I'd be ecstatic watching them achieve their hopes and dreams.

Are those the same reasons I have for helping Susannah out? I just feel like there is more there than I'm able to see right now.

To be honest, Susannah's the first real friend I've ever had. Back when I was growing up I had a few acquaintances but no one I was really close to besides my sisters. I always had to help out with the farm and do what my father told me that I didn't have time to form close friendships. Especially not with women who weren't related to me, more specifically my immediate family, seeming I didn't even know anything about my cousin Maria except for the lies and rumors you heard around town.

I like being around Susannah, even when she's not being so nice. And I have to believe she feels the same way towards me because she could have gotten rid of me at any time but here I am.

I don't think either of us actually knows how to have friends. Which might be why we get along the way we do.

I sat up quickly. I need to stop thinking about her. It's not right for me to dwell on this. She's alive, I'm not. It's not like she's going to want to keep me around forever. Who would want to stay friends with someone only they could see.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay that's it for this chapter. I'm going to work on chapter 7 later today or tomorrow and upload it real soon. <em>I swear! <strong>Thanks for sticking with me!<strong> xoxo_**


	6. Thinking Too Much

**Okay here's Chapter 7. Like I said before it's gonna be a shorty. I wasn't sure what to do for this chapter but I do have an idea that merges with Chapter 9 so hopefully that one will run smoother.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

The sun had dropped down behind the horizon and the moon had just appeared from behind some clouds. I was walking around out in the backyard trying to collect my thoughts. I'd never had as much trouble as I was having right now trying to keep them under control.

I sighed, coming to a stop beside a large tree. I leaned back against it and sank to the ground.

What I wanted to do and what I should do where two different things right now. I wanted to go find Susannah this instant and make sure that she was alright but after our conversation in the early hours of this morning I knew it was best if I just stayed away. She wouldn't want me to interfere or as she would say, "stick my nose into her business." What I should do is just let her deal with this on her own. It's not like I have to do anything anyway, it's not my problem.

But once again, I remembered my nature. It might not be my problem but I was sure making it out to be.

I sat there thinking. What could I do without it seeming like I was actually doing something? It's not like I could just go to her. I don't even know where she went. Which also means I can't send someone looking for her.

Closing my eyes, I just sat there breathing in the cool night air. In and out, in and out. Focusing on something as simple as the act of breathing, I could feel myself calming down.

She'd be coming home soon. I could feel it. Also it was getting late and her mother and step-father would be worrying about her if she didn't return before curfew. She could always sneak out again after everyone was asleep.

I'd just have to try to talk to her again when she gets home. Make her see that it'd be easier if she had my help than her just blindly navigating through this.

* * *

><p><strong>Once again I'd like to say thank you for sticking with me and sticking with this story. xoxo<strong>


End file.
